Spain is “making people’s lives a misery” in Gibraltar, according to Darren Grimes, after Madrid heaped yet more pressure on the territory.
Britain was warned on Friday that Gibraltar faces a permanent hard border after Spain imposed surprise checks in a move dubbed “hugely regrettable” by chief minister Fabian Ricardo.
Speaking on GB News, Darren hit out at Spain’s surprise move, saying Sir Keir Starmer is making Britain weak on the global stage.
“This is just a sign of giving up British territory”, he said.
Darren Grimes says Spain is making people’s lives a misery in Gibraltar
PA / GB NEWS
“We’re just losing the plot and we’re looking weak on the world stage. Gibraltar regards itself as being British, you go over there and it’s patriotism off the scale.
“We cannot allow the Spanish to clamp down and make their lives a total misery without fighting back a bit.”
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The prime minister has insisted the Rock, ceded to Britain in 1715 after being captured from the French in 1704, will stay British.
An estimated 15,000 Spanish workers cross the border to the Rock on a daily basis.
Michael Gove’s former adviser Charlie Rowley claimed on GB News that Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius sparked the renewed pressure from Spain.
“It was a huge gaffe that sparked off all this international which is which”, he said.
The Gibraltar border has proven contentious
The move was defended this week in the Commons by Foreign Secretary David Lammy, arguing it is a “historic moment” which has “saved” the joint UK-US military basis on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.
Lammy faced angry scenes in the Commons, with those on the Conservative benches in particular heckling and shouting at the Foreign Secretary as he delivered his statement and answered questions.
Tory MP Tom Tugendhat repeatedly shouted “not true” as Lammy set out the reasons behind the Government’s decision to relinquish sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, also known as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).
Lammy told the Commons: “Since its creation, the territory and the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia has had a contested existence. In recent years, the threat has risen significantly.
Charlie Rowley blamed Keir Starmer for the chaos
GB NEWS
“Coming into office, the status quo was clearly not sustainable. A binding judgment against the UK seemed inevitable and it was just a matter of time before our only choices would’ve been abandoning the base altogether or breaking international law.”
Lammy highlighted support from the United States for the deal and said Mauritius would be free to implement a resettlement programme to islands other than Diego Garcia.
Turning to concerns over the impact of the agreement on other British overseas territories, Lammy said: “I want to reassure the House and all members of the UK family worldwide that this agreement does not signal any change in policy to Britain’s other overseas territories.
“British sovereignty on the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar and the sovereign base areas, is not up for negotiation. The situations are not comparable. This has been acknowledged across our overseas territories.”
